Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

fred.stlouisfed.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 233 posts

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#61

Post by bcjdjsndon »

petcat wrote: post #42
Taikonerd wrote: post #4

It always gives me an ominous feeling to see these headlines. It's like we're walking out further and further on a frozen lake. "Hey, it's OK, the ice hasn't cracked yet! Let's keep going!"

I've always heard people say that the US debt doesn't matter when the debt itself is denominated in USD. It's the old saying, if you owe the bank $1,000 then you have a problem. But if you owe the bank a trillion dollars then the bank has a problem. Especially when that trillion dollars was spent on an insane fleet of aircraft carriers.

Except it's not a bank, it's a country with a few hundred million people that need to work and eat. Once the lenders have a problem, it would already be the end for Americans.

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#62

Post by SoftTalker »

bilsbie wrote: post #48
notfromhere wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that half the political system thinks you can cut taxes and grow revenues. Which is an intentional strategy to repeal social programs that they’d never get the votes to do so via legislation

[flagged]

True that the government spends a lot on stuff that it shouldn't, but these examples don't make much of a case. Single-digit millions are not even pocket change here.

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#63

Post by Helloworldboy »

hypeatei wrote: post #41
jgbuddy wrote: post #12

time to buy bitcoin

Haha, so you can bribe the President? I hope this comment is satire. The "masses" are well aware of crypto at this point and BTC is down 47% over this past year. It's just not that useful unless you're trying to skirt laws/regulations[1] or LARPing as a sovereign citizen. 1: Yes, I know, BTC is not even good pick for financial crimes either.

[dead]

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#64

Post by thesuitonym »

sumanthvepa wrote: post #22

Not an American, but I would argue that this level while little bit of a concern is not a huge issue for a superpower that borrows in its own currency and has the military and economic might to crush any party (sovereign or corporate) attempting move away from that system. You guys are too powerful.

We seem to be lacking in military might lately, and are increasingly losing economic might.

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#65

Post by bbayles »

Debt-to-GDP ratio is useful for comparing the debt loads of two countries, but not terribly useful in assessing the serviceability of debt for a single country.

That is, suppose two countries both have $100B in debt. One of them is a small island nation; the other is a global superpower. Obviously the global superpower will be better able to handle that - dividing by GDP helps make that clear.

However, this simple division doesn't tell you some important things. How much of the debt comes due very soon? It's worse if the answer is "most of it." How was it incurred? "Winning a war" is much better than "losing a war."

The United States has lots of debt, and personally I'm worried about the long term serviceability of it. But the ratio to GDP isn't why!

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#67

Post by hirako2000 »

bbayles wrote: post #65

Debt-to-GDP ratio is useful for comparing the debt loads of two countries, but not terribly useful in assessing the serviceability of debt for a single country. That is, suppose two countries both have $100B in debt. One of them is a small island nation; the other is a global superpower. Obviously the global superpower will be better able to handle that - dividing by GDP helps make that clear. However, this simple di…

But the doesn't come due. So long as you can cough up the interests.

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#68

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

sumanthvepa wrote: post #22

Not an American, but I would argue that this level while little bit of a concern is not a huge issue for a superpower that borrows in its own currency and has the military and economic might to crush any party (sovereign or corporate) attempting move away from that system. You guys are too powerful.

It's not a problem when other nations borrow in the fiat currency. They're being taught to seek alternative, more tolerable regimes to invest in. Once they establish a better alternative they won't come back.

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#69

Post by harmmonica »

The stock and real estate market, huge sources of wealth for the us population, are still near all-time highs and many people, tens of millions at least, have way more real money than they’ve ever had in their lives, and yet a massive number of those people would rather not take a hit to their wealth when it’s easiest to absorb the hit and instead prefer cutting things that even they like the government providing (medicare this week the latest example in an endless number of examples these past months). It really is crazy how wealth-obsessed many Americans are.

And I say that as an absolute hater of how the pols run the place (yes both sides. One for having no sense of how to manage money and the other having some sense but ignoring it; one of these is objectively worse than the other (yep, I said it, objectively!)).

Seems like the end goal is not to have a country left but instead a bunch of factions more likely to be at war fighting over cash, resources and culture issues. Depressing as fuck for those of us not excited about that end goal.

Re: U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio reaches 123%

#70

Post by chasd00 »

elteto wrote: post #56
bilsbie wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

You made a tiny mistake, you forgot the $800 billion for the military!

> you forgot the $800 billion for the military!

I agree but i wouldn't be that upset if that money was spent on soldier's pay and buying things or R/D from US companies built in the United States while employing US citizens. To me, that's a decent tax/spend jobs program. Now, military money flowing overseas and propping up some other economy? There could be valid reasons but that deserves to go under a microscope.

Post reply on HN